The Latest: Flames agree with Brouwer on 4-year deal
The Latest on NHL free agency (all times Eastern):
1:30 p.m.
The Calgary Flames have agreed to sign veteran free-agent forward Troy Brouwer to a four-year, $18 million contract.
An eight-year veteran, Brouwer joins his third team in three seasons after playing a significant role in helping the St. Louis Blues reach the Western Conference finals.
Brouwer is a three-time 20-goal-scorer and had 18 goals and 39 points in 82 games with the Blues last season. He then added eight goals and 15 points in St. Louis' playoff run.
Selected by Chicago in the seventh round of the 2004 NHL draft, Brouwer was a member of the Blackhawks team that won the 2010 Stanley Cup championship. He then played four seasons in Washington.
Overall, he has 150 goals and 294 points in 613 career games.
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1:25 p.m.
The Tampa Bay Lightning have signed defenseman Victor Hedman to a $63 million, eight-year contract extension.
Hedman will count $7.875 million against the salary cap when the deal begins in the 2017-18 season.
The 6-foot-6, 223-pound Hedman was in the running for the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP when Tampa Bay lost to the Chicago Blackhawks in the 2015 Stanley Cup Final.
In 473 NHL games, the 25-year-old has 49 goals and 180 assists. Last season he had 10 goals and 37 assists.
The Hedman extension comes on the heels of the Lightning signing captain Steven Stamkos to a $68 million, eight-year contract.
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1:20 p.m.
The New Jersey Devils have signed defenseman Ben Lovejoy to an $8 million, three-year deal.
General manager Ray Shero announced the deal about an hour into the start of the NHL free agency period.
Lovejoy will count $2.67 million against the salary cap through the 2018-19 season. He'll make $2.5 million next season and in 2017-18 and $2.75 million in the final year of the contract.
The 32-year-old Lovejoy won the Stanley Cup with the Pittsburgh Penguins. He played in all 24 playoff games and recorded two goals and four assists.
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1:10 p.m.
A person with direct knowledge of the deal tells The Associated Press that the Calgary Flames have agreed to a one-year contract to sign free-agent goalie Chad Johnson.
The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because the Flames have not announced the agreement reached shortly after the NHL's free-agency period opened on Friday.
Johnson has six seasons of NHL experience, and showed he has starting potential after enjoying a career-best season in Buffalo last year. In playing a career-high 45 games, he posted a 22-16-4 record in filling in for Robin Lehner after the starter hurt his right ankle in the Sabres season opener.
The Flames are re-shuffling their goalies after struggling at the position last season. Last week, Calgary acquired goalie Brian Elliott in a trade with St. Louis.
- By John Wawrow
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1:05 p.m.
The St. Louis Blues wasted little time getting down to business in NHL free agency, signing winger David Perron and goaltender Carter Hutton and extending goaltender Jake Allen.
The Blues signed winger David Perron to a $7.5 million, two-year deal. He'll count $3.75 million against the cap in each of the next two seasons.
Perron spent last season with the Pittsburgh Penguins and Anaheim Ducks and had 12 goals and 24 assists. He's returning to St. Louis, which drafted him 26th overall in 2007. In 570 NHL games, Perron has 141 goals and 191 assists.
Perron helps replace right wing Troy Brouwer, who signed an $18 million, four-year deal with the Calgary Flames.
Allen's extension is worth $17.4 million over four years. It begins with the 2017-18 season.
The Blues got his backup in Hutton, who signed for two years and $2.25 million. That $1.25 million cap hit is a significant savings over Brian Elliott, whom the Blues traded to the Calgary Flames at the draft last weekend.
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1 p.m.
Defenseman Brian Campbell has agreed to a one-year contract with the Chicago Blackhawks and is returning to the team he helped win the Stanley Cup.
The 37-year-old Campbell played in Chicago from 2008 to 2011 and was part of a team that won it all in 2010 - the first of three titles in a six-year span for the Blackhawks.
He spent the past five seasons with the Florida Panthers, appearing in all of the team's 376 regular-season games. He had 28 goals and 147 assists.
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12:45 p.m.
The Edmonton Oilers have signed left wing Milan Lucic to a $42 million, seven-year deal. Lucic will count $6 million against the Oilers' salary cap.
Agent Gerry Johannson confirmed the terms of the deal in an email to The Associated Press.
Lucic will help fill the void left by Edmonton's trade of left wing Taylor Hall to the New Jersey Devils for defenseman Adam Larsson.
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12:30 p.m.
The Buffalo Sabres have signed winger Kyle Okposo to a $42 million, seven-year deal. Agent Pat Brisson confirmed the terms of the contract.
The Sabres turned to Okposo after Steven Stamkos re-signed with the Tampa Bay Lightning on a $68 million, eight-year deal.
The Okposo deal was among a flurry of early signings that included Troy Brouwer to the Calgary Flames for $4.5 million person on a four-year deal and David Backes to the Boston Bruins on a $30 million, five-year deal.
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Noon
The puck has dropped on NHL free agency.
A slew of deals were expected to be done before the sun sets Friday.
Steven Stamkos stopped the sweepstakes for his services Wednesday with a $68 million, eight-year contract to stay in Tampa Bay. That deal was announced on the same day as a blockbuster trade that sent defenseman P.K. Subban to Nashville and Shea Weber to Montreal.
The Buffalo Sabres, Detroit Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs were projected to be major players in free agency, hoping to make a splash by signing big-name players.
Milan Lucic, Kyle Okposo and Loui Eriksson were among the top players available.
The NHL's salary cap went up slightly to $73 million for next season.
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11:50 a.m.
A person familiar with the moves says the Detroit Red Wings have agreed to deals with forward Darren Helm and defenseman Alexey Marchenko.
The person spoke Friday on condition of anonymity because the agreements haven't been announced.
Detroit retained Helm with a five-year contract, counting $3.85 million against the salary cap each season. The Red Wings are keeping Marchenko for two more seasons, taking $1.45 million off their cap each year.
Helm had 13 goals and 26 points last season. He has 72 goals and 90 assists since making his debut during the 2007-08 season.
Marchenko is coming off his first full season in the NHL. He played in 66 games last season, scoring twice and adding nine assists.
- By Larry Lage
